Girls of the Unknown
by Hisha P
Summary: Little snippets of the girls' life after the brothers left the Unknown. Set in the same continuity as A Light For the Lost.
1. House Repairs

Notes : The first three chapters take place before my other fic _A Light For the Lost_.

Just like in that fic, I decided to use the fan-name Clover for the Woodsman's daughter.

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><p><em>House Repairs<em>

Finally, everyone in Beatrice's family was human again. Finally, they could go back to their home by the river. They had to abandon it after their transformation since it wasn't quite adapted to bluebirds. Which was almost funny, considering how these were everywhere in the house from the decorations to the logo on the potato sacks.

They didn't know what exactly happened in their absence, but they found the mill destroyed. The other half of the building turned out to be pretty much intact, however. It even was much less dusty than they expected after their long absence.

Beatrice knew why. Of course, she wasn't there when Wirt and Greg were brought here by the Woodsman but they had told her about it. Therefore, while they were figuring out what they needed for the repairs, she told her family the story of how the mill got in such a state.

Her parents didn't seem pleased to find out some stranger had occupied their house without asking first but it was too late to do anything about it now. Plus, now that the snow outside was melting away, house repairs were the priority.

While everyone else was helping to fix the roof, two of Beatrice's younger siblings decided to go look for the dog who had wandered off again. However, the family pet wasn't the only thing they found : coming towards them were two visitors.

As the little group approached the house, Beatrice (who was holding the ladder for her father on the roof) recognised one of the visitors as the Woodsman ; however the teenage girl accompanying him was a complete stranger to her.

"Mom, dad!" Beatrice's younger siblings called. "The mister who lived in our house said he wanted to help fix it!"

"…And then I told my father I'd like to see where he lived before he went back to our home" the Woodsman's daughter (who went by the name of Clover) explained to Beatrice as they were cleaning the house with the children. "We met your siblings, helped them find your dog, talked a bit… and Father decided he should probably give your parents a hand."

"Is that his way of saying 'sorry I used your house without permission'?" Beatrice asked while dusting her own nightstand.

"Guess so", Clover replied while cleaning the window.

Seeing that the two teenagers were doing a good enough job on their own cleaning Beatrice's bedroom, the children soon left them to take care of the rest of the house. A few minutes later the room was spotless.

"You were there when my father killed the Beast, weren't you?" Clover asked.

The redhead sat on her bed and stared at the window for a few seconds before replying :

"We left the clearing before it happened. I think we wanted to put as much distance between us and the Beast as possible. It was only when we heard him scream in agony that we stopped."

"And then?"

"Wirt used the scissors to turn me back into a human, we said goodbye and he and his Greg disappeared. End of story. Now why don't we go see how your father and my parents are doing in the mill?"

Beatrice stood up and left the room before the brunette could ask any more questions.

As it turned out, the adults were doing just fine on their own and didn't really need the teenagers' assistance at the moment ; therefore Beatrice sat by the river with her dog to her left and the Woodsman's daughter to her right.

For the longest time, neither of them produced any sound.

"About the scissors and turning back to human…" Clover started tentatively.

"We've talked enough about me", the redhead stated. "What about you?"

"We've been talking about me all afternoon…" the brunette pointed out.

The silence came back, only troubled by the sounds of the river.

"If you don't want to talk about it, fine", Clover finally said. "We can talk about something else. Or not at all. Both are good."

Beatrice smiled faintly. Once again she had someone around her age to talk to, which was good ; however what she really needed at that very moment might be someone to be silent with. She had just met this girl and yet it already looked like she could be both.

The two teenagers remained there without uttering a word until the dog got bored and went back to the house.

"Let's get back inside too, it's getting cold here" the redhead said.

Her parents invited the Woodsman and his daughter to stay overnight and they gladly accepted as it was getting late and their home was quite far.

"You sure you don't mind sharing your bed with me?" Clover asked her new friend as they went back to the latter's room for the night.

"It's not like you have a choice", Beatrice shrugged. "Where else would you sleep, on the floor? Or you could go with my siblings but you'd have to share a bed too. You might as well stay here."

The Woodsman's daughter nodded, smiling slightly as she too got ready for bed. Then both teenagers proceeded to have the best night sleep they ever had.


	2. Closer

_Closer_

The Woodsman and his daughter stayed until the house repairs were complete and then went back to their own home with the promise of visiting again some day.

Beatrice hoped it would be soon : Clover had been gone for only a day and yet she already missed her. She missed the conversations they had while repairing the mill with the adults or cleaning the house with the children. She missed the silence when they sat by the river or looked through the window.

The teenager shook her head : it wasn't like she wouldn't see her again! Unlike Wirt and Greg, Clover had no intention of leaving the Unknown. She could visit whenever she wanted. Hopefully soon.

Clover found a bluebird nest in the forest while taking a walk and couldn't help but smile. She wondered what Beatrice was doing at this very moment. She hadn't seen her in two weeks but it felt like forever. Maybe she was sitting by the river with her dog? According to her it was the only place she could get some peace and quiet while still being on her parents' property.

Clover really didn't mind how noisy Beatrice's household could get with all the children running around (then again, she didn't have to put up with this every single day), however sitting in silence by the river with her friend definitely was her favourite part of her stay there.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the Woodsman calling her name ; she rushed to their cabin immediately.

"I'm here, Father" she reassured him. "I just thought… since there's no Beast anymore I could just take a walk."

"It's alright", the Woodsman said as his daughter hugged him and he hugged her back. "But tell me beforehand next time."

"Father, I just got you back, I'm not going anywhere without you. And… speaking of going anywhere, we should visit Beatrice again like we said we would. Or we could invite her here, I'm sure she'd like how quiet it is."

"We'll discuss it when I'm done with all the firewood."

After a whole month without seeing her friend, Beatrice finally spotted her from the window of her bedroom. Without even thinking about it, she immediately dashed straight outside to meet her. Upon seeing the redhead, Clover also started running ; this resulted in both teenagers bumping into each other and falling on the ground. The Woodsman's daughter burst into laughter, soon joined by her friend.

Her father helped them get back on their feet. Even he was smiling.

From this day on, the Woodsman and his daughter visited the old mill at least once a week. She would spend the entire day with Beatrice and he would help the other adults with various tasks since manual labour was far easier to him than social interactions. And also because he didn't really know what else to do while at the mill. However, seeing his daughter happy was worth every single second spent in this place.

He witnessed the two teenagers growing closer to one another every week that passed. Maybe all Clover really needed was a best friend.


	3. Kiss

_Kiss_

It was late at night, yet Beatrice and Clover were still wide awake, sitting on the bed and trying to read a book together by candlelight. The redhead was holding the book and the brunette was holding the candle.

"Wait, what's this word, I can't see…" Clover asked for the third time in the last fifteen minutes.

"How about I just read it to you so you stop asking that question?"

"Sounds good."

She listened to Beatrice read the words aloud. Soon enough, her gaze left the book completely and settled on her friend's face. And her moving lips. She barely heard anything the other girl was reading now. Instead she realised just how close to one another their bodies were, hips and shoulder touching. They had found each other in this position multiple times before, why did it feel… different lately?

The sudden silence followed by the redhead's slightly annoyed hum brought Clover back to reality ; she finally noticed she had lowered the candle a bit too much and let a few drops of wax drip on the wooden floor.

She promptly apologised and held the candle upright again.

"If you're tired, why don't you say so instead of dripping wax everywhere?" Beatrice asked.

"I'm not tired, I just was…distracted and…"

Clover hoped her friend couldn't see her blushing in the dim light.

"And what? If something's wrong, tell me, I'm not a mind reader you know!"

She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't find the words. How could she explain what was going through her mind? How could she explain to her best friend that part of her wanted to slowly inch away from her while the other part wanted to get even closer? How could she explain that the other part was wining?

She set the candle on the nightstand, her eyes going back and forth between Beatrice's eyes and her lips the whole time. The next thing she knew, their lips were touching. Then, just as quickly, Clover backed away and stood up while apologising profusely.

She turned around and headed for the door ; right before she could reach the handle, the redhead joined her and grabbed her arm.

"Clover, you can't just leave in the middle of the night!"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have -"

"It's – it's ok, it was just really sudden and… Warn me next time."

"Next time? You… you want a next time?"

It was Beatrice's turn to blush now even though the darkness hid it from her friend's eyes.

"Hum… m-maybe?"

Neither of them was entirely sure which one kissed the other first this time.


	4. Tough Decision

Notes : an anonymous reviewer pointed out that there was no indication that this fic would include romance. Good observation, whoever you are! I had forgotten to tag it as "romance", sorry about that. Now it is done! :)

Though, this one chapter focus less on romance and more on certain events of my previous fic_ A Light For the Lost_. Actually, it takes place during and right after _A Light For the Lost_ so you might want to read it first in order to understand what's going on and avoid spoilers.

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><p><em>Tough Decision<em>

"She didn't recognise us… or her own name…" Clover whispered, still in shock as the teenager formerly known as Aileen was walking away. Her very soul had been tainted : was it too late?

"When we first met her she said she didn't want to hurt anyone", Beatrice remembered. "And now she's become the Beast! She has forgotten more than her name. You said it yourself : Aileen is lost. Forever."

The brunette let go of her girlfriend's hand.

"Do you think we can still bring her back?" she asked.

"Somehow, I doubt it. I told you before we shouldn't have let her leave my house alone! Who knows how many people she's killed over the past few months just to keep herself alive! We have to stop her. All we have to do is take the lantern from her and -"

"You want to _kill_ her", Clover interrupted.

"Aileen's already dead", the redhead stated. "It's the Beast we have to stop. Just like your father did before us."

The Woodsman's daughter fell silent. Was there no other way? Maybe she should talk to her father about – wait, no, he felt guilty enough for not hiding the Dark Lantern ; it was best he didn't know about the new Beast.

In the distance, Beatrice and Clover could hear her singing a song neither of the two residents of the Unknown knew. They followed the voice quietly, careful to stop moving whenever the monster took a breath so she didn't hear them.

It sure was a tough decision to make but it had to be done.

They had done it. They had beaten the new Beast. She was still standing in the same pose but her eyes were no longer glowing ; they just looked dead and empty. The dead creature didn't seem to turn into a tree like her predecessor just yet. It would probably take some time.

Clover ran to her cabin, retrieved her father's shovel while he was busy somewhere else then got back to her girlfriend.

"We should bury her somewhere before she takes roots", she said. "But… not right here, Father could see us."

Neither she nor Beatrice dared to look at the body more than a few seconds at a time while transporting it : even with those two short branches coming out of its head it still looked just like Aileen.

Once the two teenagers decided they were far enough from the Woodsman's cabin, they laid their burden on the ground and took turns digging and trying to figure out a way to destroy the Dark Lantern.

Smashing it with a big rock or against a tree didn't do any good. They therefore decided to go bury it in a different place as soon as the monster was underground and covered in leaves.

The sun was setting when they approached the cabin again.

"You know, Bea… I think Father will never really forgive himself for what he did" Clover explained while they put the shovel back in place with the other tools. "And he hasn't forgiven himself for not hiding the lantern properly either. It's best if he never knows about… this."

"I guess you're right" Beatrice replied as they entered the next room. "It's best not to say anything."

"About what?" asked the Woodsman who, as it turned out, was waiting for them inside.

"Oh, cheese and crackers…" the redhead whispered.

"And where were you?" Clover's father continued. "I was just about to go look for you in the woods!"

"Sorry Father, we were just… we didn't notice it was getting this late…"

His face softened.

"Time flies when you are with someone you love."

He then left the room without any other comments ; the two teenagers blinked a few times in confusion.

"Wait, he knows about us?" Beatrice asked.

"I didn't tell him anything…" her girlfriend said.

They would have to deal with this later, as they found out another guest was in the cabin. Indeed, a young man lost in the forest had asked the Woodsman for shelter while the girls were outside. Maybe he was the one who unknowingly lead the Beast here? They would most likely never know.


	5. Aftermath

_Aftermath_

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><p>The morning after the incident, the lost stranger left the cabin, guided by the Woodsman. The two lovers were therefore more alone than they had ever been since the day they met. They really didn't mind. Or at least Beatrice didn't ; Clover was just sitting on her bed and staring into space.<p>

"Are you alright?" her girlfriend asked as she sat next to her.

"'Just thinking… about yesterday."

"We had no choice", the redhead pointed out once more.

"I know. Even as I felt the Beast's soul in hers I wanted to hope we could still help her, but now that I've had time to think… if even her soul was corrupted, what else could we have done? She was more Beast than Aileen."

"Wait, what? What do you mean you felt – nevermind. Let's… not dwell on this too much, ok Clover?"

Beatrice would rather try to forget this whole affair.

"I guess I need – we need to clear our heads", the brunette said.

"Clear our heads or '_clear our heads_'?"

"…Both sound good. Also we don't have to worry about being heard for once!"

The redhead couldn't help but smile at that last part. In her house, they always had to be careful not to make too much noise ; however, in Clover's home and with the Woodsman gone…

The opportunity was too good to pass up.

When the lovers went to the next room for a snack, they found Clover's father sitting on a chair in front of the unlit fireplace.

"F-Father?" the brunette asked, quickly letting go of her girlfriend's hand. "When did you come back?"

"I just arrived."

Both teenagers tried their best to muffle their sigh of relief. He didn't hear anything. Good.

The Woodsman rose from his chair and turned to Beatrice. It was the first time he ever saw her with her hair down and slightly dishevelled but he didn't comment on it.

"I promised your parents I would return you to them in the morning", he reminded her. "And I will whenever you're ready."

"Father?" Clover said hesitantly. "About… about Beatrice and I -"

"I know, dear. I've known for a while. You remind me so much of your mother and I…"

He couldn't bring himself to say anything else. Clover knew, without even needing to ask, that her father never truly recovered from her mother's death years ago.

Once everyone was ready to leave, they set out for Beatrice's home. This time, the two young lovers didn't need to make sure they were alone before holding hands.


	6. The Pasture

_The Pasture_

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><p>"Finally!" Beatrice exclaimed when, after a long walk through the forest and the pastures with her girlfriend, a little familiar hut appeared.<p>

Adelaide's old home.

"I'm not so sure about this, Bea", Clover said.

"We wouldn't have to stay here forever, only until we find better somewhere else. It's not like Adelaide will need it anymore."

"I still don't get why you want to go here _now_. Plus we can't just take someone else's house like that…"

The girl in blue opened the door to the old hut, letting daylight enter it and revealing all the dust and spider webs that had appear since the last time she went there. Back then she was still a bluebird and her friends Wirt and Greg were still lost in the Unknown.

The mere memory of the teenage boy's face when he realised what Beatrice's initial plan actually was still punched her in the guts whenever she thought about it.

"Bea, are you listening?" her girlfriend asked. "I just asked you a question."

"Huh? Sorry, 'just thinking", the redhead apologised before finally entering the hut. "What was the question again?"

"Do you know if Adelaide had any family or anyone else that would mind if someone used her old house?"

Beatrice shrugged as Clover joined her inside. The brunette took a quick look into the room before speaking again :

"Well, at least her spirit isn't still here."

"What? How do you even know if-"

"How _don't_ you? It's so obvious!"

"…You're really weird sometimes" Beatrice pointed out, walking to the still open drawers and looking into it.

"You really can't sense these things?" the brunette asked. "You're like my father."

"Your father and everyone else but you, Clover."

The Woodsman's daughter opened her mouth to speak but couldn't find the words. She had always thought her father was the odd one out ; could it be that she was wrong all along? Was she really the only one to perceive things the way she did? Did her girlfriend really think she was weird? Was she weird?

"And here it is!" Beatrice exclaimed, interrupting her partner's train of thoughts.

Before she could show what she had found, they heard someone coming through the door.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my sister's house?" the strange old woman who had just entered asked in a monotone voice.

Clover froze ; Beatrice stepped away from the drawers and towards her girlfriend.

"No-one had heard from Adelaide in a while so we went to check on her", she lied. "Looks like she's not here, she must have moved out, goodbye. Let's go, Clover."

The redhead grabbed her partner's hand and lead her towards the door only to find out another girl around their age was standing in the doorstep, blocking their way.

"You knew Adelaide?" the old woman asked.

"I… she was supposed to help me in exchange for a favour but it seems she disappeared", Beatrice explained, mixing the truth with lies. She couldn't tell Adelaide's sister what really happened, could she?

"And I was just accompanying her", Clover added while pointing at her partner.

While the latter was understandably nervous, the former was strangely calm.

"…I guess we better leave you two alone", the redhead stated.

"If you ever want to come over to our home and discuss all of this…" the third teenage girl started before giving the other two directions to her house.

She then stepped aside to let them leave.

The couple remained silent until the hut wasn't visible in the distance anymore.

"They both have a good soul", the brunette observed.

The girl in blue nodded. She figured her girlfriend knew what she was talking about.

"If you say so. But still, for a second I thought that old lady was going to eat me alive or something…"

"That's _my _job."

Beatrice froze in place, surprised to hear this from Clover of all people. The latter just smiled, grabbed her hand and lead her through the pasture and back home.


	7. Turtles

_Turtles_

Where did all the black turtles go? They used to be all around the Unknown. Lorna was quite skilled at spotting them by now and yet she hadn't found any in quite a while. They had left the area. Even Auntie Whispers didn't understand.

The teenager was determined to find out where they had gone and bring some to the old woman. It was the least she could do.

She couldn't remember venturing that far from her adopted aunt's house before. And the sun was setting on the forest : it was best to head back home immediately.

However, right as Lorna was about to go back the way she came, she spotted one of the creatures she was looking for. She smiled but didn't pick it up right away, as she needed to see where the animal was going. If it could guide her to wherever the others were…

To the girl's delight, it did. To her confusion, she found hundreds of little black turtles huddled up in the same spot on the forest ground. Lorna had never seen anything like this before.

She decided answers, if there were any, would have to wait : Auntie Whispers was certainly worrying about her right now and the teenager therefore couldn't linger here any longer. She could always come back later to investigate.

She picked up just enough turtles to fill her basket and promptly headed back home.

Lorna came back where the black turtles were a couple of times but still couldn't quite understand what was so special about this particular spot. Also, to add to the mystery, Auntie Whispers claimed that they tasted different than before, "like something was missing." And lastly, the girl had found a second, smaller group of these creatures further into the woods.

The turtles were looking for something, but what?

If whatever attracted them here wasn't visible on the surface, maybe it was hidden beneath it… She would have to move them out of the way and dig. No, she needed a shovel first, that would make things easier. She could find the closest house and ask if they had one. Wait, wouldn't they wonder why a stranger asked them a shovel? She would have to explain everything.

It took Lorna a while before finding a cabin in the woods. Next to it, two people were planting something into the earth. She recognised the two girls she met at late Adelaide's house. She could ask them for help!

"Hello?" she said as she approached.

The brunette stood up, leaving the seeds uncovered, while the redhead planted the shovel into the soil firmly. Both said hello back in perfect unison.

"I… I need your help for something", the girl with the bonnet said.

The other two glanced at each other, surprised. They obviously didn't expect her to visit, even less to ask them a favour.

"What's your problem?" the brunette asked, wiping her hands on her skirt.

Telling the truth seemed to be the best solution.

"I'm trying to figure out why are the black turtles all gathering in the same places over there and… I need your shovel."

"Wait, where did you say the turtles were?" the redhead enquired. "Can you show us?"

Lorna, Beatrice and Clover (who was now carrying her father's shovel) arrived where most of the critters were gathered. The former witnessed the other two gasp as they recognised the place.

"We mustn't dig here" the Woodsman's daughter stated, taking a step back then turning around to leave the place.

"She's right", Beatrice agreed while gently grabbing Lorna's arm. "Come with us. Where did you say your house was again?"

"What's going on?"

"Long story short, this is where the Beast is buried" the redhead explained. "Do I really need to say more?"

As soon as they caught up with Clover, the latter said :

"You have a beautiful soul, Lorna : I wouldn't want to see it corrupted like… like _she_ was."

Lorna had so many questions to ask she didn't quite know where to even start. However, there was one thing she did know : these two knew more than what they were willing to share. About the turtles, about the Beast… and maybe even about whatever happened to Auntie Whispers' sister. And she would get to the bottom of it one way or another.


End file.
